What are the different types of cloud computing?  |  Google Cloud (2024)

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Different Types of Cloud Computing

Cloud adoption continues to grow in popularity as more enterprises replace the upfront costs and long-term maintenance of physical servers and on-premises infrastructure with the scalable, flexible, on-demand computing resources of the public cloud.

So, what are the main types of cloud computing models and how do you know which is right for you? The main three types of cloud computing are public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud. Within these deployment models, there are four main services: infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), software as a service (SaaS), and serverless computing.

The type of cloud deployment model and cloud service model you choose will vary depending on your existing IT investments, business requirements, and the outcomes you are hoping to achieve.

Below, we’ll take a closer look at the different types of cloud computing, including deployment and service models.

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Cloud deployment models

When adopting cloud architecture, there are three different types of cloud deployment models that help deliver cloud computing services: public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud.

Public cloud

Public clouds deliver resources, such as compute, storage, network, develop-and-deploy environments, and applications over the internet. They are owned and run by third-party cloud service providers like Google Cloud.

Private cloud

Private clouds are built, run, and used by a single organization, typically located on-premises. They provide greater control, customization, and data security but come with similar costs and resource limitations associated with traditional IT environments.

Hybrid cloud

Environments that mix at least one private computing environment (traditional IT infrastructure or private cloud, including edge) with one or more public clouds are called hybrid clouds. They allow you to leverage the resources and services from different computing environments and choose which is the most optimal for the workloads.

When talking about types of cloud deployment, you may also hear the term multicloud environment. In fact, industry research shows that nearly 90% of companies are now considered multicloud, meaning they combine cloud services from at least two different cloud service providers, whether public or private. Adopting a multicloud approach gives you greater flexibility to choose the solutions that best suit your specific business needs and also reduces the risk of vendor lock-in.

While multicloud and hybrid cloud are sometimes used interchangeably, a hybrid cloud approach can be considered multicloud, but only if it makes use of services from multiple public cloud providers.

Types of cloud services: IaaS vs. PaaS vs. SaaS vs. serverless models

Within the cloud deployment models, there are several types of cloud services, including infrastructure, platforms, and software applications. Cloud service models are not mutually exclusive, and you can choose to use more than one in combination or even all of them at once.

Here are the three main cloud service models:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

IaaS delivers on-demand infrastructure resources, such as compute, storage, networking, and virtualization. With IaaS, the service provider owns and operates the infrastructure, but customers will need to purchase and manage software, such as operating systems, middleware, data, and applications.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

PaaS delivers and manages hardware and software resources for developing, testing, delivering, and managing cloud applications. Providers typically offer middleware, development tools, and cloud databases within their PaaS offerings.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS provides a full application stack as a service that customers can access and use. SaaS solutions often come as ready-to-use applications, which are managed and maintained by the cloud service provider.

Serverless computing

Serverless computing in cloud service models is also called Function as a Service (FaaS). This is a relatively new cloud service model that provides solutions to build applications as simple, event-triggered functions without managing or scaling any infrastructure.

Differences between IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and serverless

A simple analogy to help remember the difference between IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and serverless is to think of the models like eating fresh pasta. You could make your own from scratch (on-premises data center), where you buy all the basic ingredients to make everything like the sauce and dough.

However, most of us generally don’t have enough time or don’t want to spend so much time and effort to eat a bowl of pasta. Instead you might choose from the following options instead:

  • IaaS: Buying pre-packed ingredients like fresh pasta and sauce made by someone else that you use to cook at home.
  • PaaS: Order takeout or delivery where your meal is prepared for you and you don’t have to worry about the ingredients or how you’ll cook it, but you have to worry about where you’ll eat, the utensils, and cleaning up after your meal.
  • SaaS: Call ahead to the restaurant and order the exact meal you want. They prepare everything ahead of time for you so that all you have to do is show up and eat.
  • Serverless: Go out to dinner and order pasta at a restaurant, alone or with friends. You pay and eat whatever you want and the restaurant makes sure there’s enough ingredients and staff to create the order without a long wait.

Cloud computing technology continues to accelerate digital transformations, providing organizations with everything from compute and storage to cloud databases and development tools to advanced data analytics and AI/ML capabilities.

At the same time, the cost of cloud computing offers significant savings over traditional IT infrastructure and technology. Instead of having to procure, build, and maintain expensive data centers, companies can opt for virtual servers and other cloud-based IT solutions where they only pay for what they consume.

Choosing a cloud deployment model and service model is a basic, but necessary, part of cloud adoption. While your implementation and utilization of cloud computing will always be unique from other organizations, it’s important to know the advantages and limitations of different types of cloud computing so you can understand how they will impact your business.

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What are the different types of cloud computing?  |  Google Cloud (2024)

FAQs

What are the different types of cloud computing?  |  Google Cloud? ›

The main three types of cloud computing are public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud.

What are the different types of cloud in cloud computing? ›

Several different cloud computing models, types, and services have evolved to meet the rapidly changing technology needs of organizations. There are three different ways to deploy cloud services: on a public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud.

What type of cloud computing is Google Cloud? ›

What is GCP? GCP is a public cloud vendor — like competitors Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. With GCP and other cloud vendors, customers are able to access computer resources housed in Google's data centers around the world for free or on a pay-per-use basis.

What are the different types of cloud computing quizlet? ›

  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) IaaS contains the basic building blocks for cloud IT and typically provides access to networking features, computers (virtual or on dedicated hardware), and data storage space. ...
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS) ...
  • Software as a Service (SaaS)

What are the 4 cloud models? ›

NIST defines four cloud deployment models: public clouds, private clouds, community clouds, and hybrid clouds. A cloud deployment model is defined according to where the infrastructure for the deployment resides and who has control over that infrastructure.

What are 3 types of cloud computing? ›

The main three types of cloud computing are public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud. Within these deployment models, there are four main services: infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), software as a service (SaaS), and serverless computing.

How many types of Google Cloud are there? ›

Google Cloud provides three main services for different types of storage: Persistent Disks for block storage, Filestore for network file storage, and Cloud Storage for object storage.

What makes Google Cloud different? ›

Only Google Cloud brings together innovations from across Google to help customers digitally transform with AI that's ready for what's next, data insights that speed innovation, infrastructure that's designed to meet industry needs, collaboration tools that help teams do their best work, and security that can ...

What is Google Cloud best for? ›

Better collaboration

Cloud storage enables you to make data available anywhere you are, anytime you need it. Instead of being tied to a location or specific device, people can access data from anywhere in the world from any device—as long as they have an internet connection.

What are three types of cloud computing quizlet? ›

There are three major types of cloud computing—IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. Basically provides virtualized computing resources over the Internet.

What are the three main cloud computing service models quizlet? ›

refers to the integration of all three primary cloud service models defined by NIST - Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).

What are the 4 different cloud groups and how are they classified? ›

Clouds are classified according to their height above and appearance (texture) from the ground. The following cloud roots and translations summarize the components of this classification system: 1) Cirro-: curl of hair, high; 2) Alto-: mid; 3) Strato-: layer; 4) Nimbo-: rain, precipitation; and 5) Cumulo-: heap.

What are the 3 main types of cloud deployment models? ›

The three main types of cloud deployment models are private, public, or hybrid. Selecting your desired model depends on your specific requirements.

What is the best type of cloud computing? ›

SaaS cloud computing enables you to subscribe to using a complete, cloud-based application that is end-user-friendly through a web browser, API, or dedicated desktop client. The SaaS model is the most popular cloud computing service because it saves time, money, and effort.

How many types of cloud are there? ›

Thus, the 10 types are: Low-level clouds (cumulus, stratus, stratocumulus) that lie below 6,500 feet (1,981 m) Middle clouds (altocumulus, nimbostratus, altostratus) that form between 6,500 and 20,000 feet (1981–6,096 m) High-level clouds (cirrus, cirrocumulus, cirrostratus) that form above 20,000 feet (6,096 m)

What are the main differences between cloud types? ›

The three main types of clouds are:
  • Cumulus (those puffy shaped clouds)
  • Cirrus (those wispy clouds, often very high up)
  • Stratus (the low clouds that often cover the entire sky)
Mar 31, 2020

How many main cloud types are there and what are they called? ›

Sometimes you'll hear of the four main types of clouds, and that's referring to the classification established by industrial chemist Luke Howard in his 1803 "Essay on the Modifications of Clouds." Howard actually named three main types — cirrus, cumulus, and stratus — with a fourth special type called nimbus.

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